Greens Hope For Draft National Transport Strategy
10 December 2007
Greens Hopeful On Draft National Transport Strategy
The draft National Transport
Strategy, which was released at 5pm today,
shows that the
Government is finally listening to Green Party advice
on
transport and peak oil issues, Green Party Co-leader
Jeanette Fitzsimons
says.
"The draft strategy, which
sets out New Zealand's transport goals until
at least
2040 shows some good progress in Government thinking
on
transport and peak oil, but has some worrying
contradictions in it," Ms
Fitzsimons says.
"The Green
Party welcomes the Government's recognition that fuel
prices
are only going to go up, as we have been
predicting for years.
"Perhaps the Reserve Bank could
take note of this and revise its own
forecasts, which
just last week predicted that oil would fall to US$72
a
barrel by 2010.
The draft Strategy bases many of its
targets on those set out by the
Energy Efficiency
Conservation strategy, of which Ms Fitzsimons is
the
Government Spokesperson.
"This use of Energy
Efficiency Conservation strategy goals is a good
sign for
New Zealand's transport problems. Too many people are
already
having to cope with the consequences of poor
transport planning and
increasing oil prices," Ms
Fitzsimons says.
Some aspects of the strategy are worryingly tentative however.
"Why, when Auckland has
said it will double public transport use by
2016, has
this strategy set the same target for the rest of the
country
- but not until 2040?
"I would also ask why,
when the strategy predicts that fuel prices are
going to
go up even more, does it lay out plans to increase roading
in
some urban areas?
"I would suggest that, given that
there are no submission questions or
even an address for
submitters to send their responses to, the
Government is
going to have to listen very carefully for the
public's
opinions on their draft
document."
ENDS